A BIRDER’S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING MENU

Part of the centerpiece

Here’s the long awaited menu recap from the small (100 guests) party given by my client after a screening of A Birder’s Guide To Everything during the Tribeca Film Festival.

A BIRDER’S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING MENU

HORS D’OEUVRES

Crostini w/Filet of Beef & Horseradish Cream

Roasted Garlic Shrimp Cocktail

Almost White Castle Sliders 2 ways with & w/o cheese

Beet Horseradish Hummus w/Garlic Toasted White Pita Chips

Tuscan Herb Hummus w/Garlic Toasted Whole Wheat Pita Chips

Shrimp Asparagus Tip Dijonaisse in mini Filo Cups

Mini Brie/Apricot Tarts

Caprese Sticks

Mini Bacon and Potato Frittatas

Asian Meatballs w/Thai Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Crudites Yogurt Jalapeno Dip & Roasted Garlic Spinach Dip

Artichoke Pesto on Cucumber Rounds

Endive Petals with Pesto Chicken Salad

Five Spice Mixed Nuts

Endive Spears with Lobster, Avocado & Grapefruit

Cheese Platters w/Smoked Gouda, Morel & Leek Jack, Horseradish Cheddar, and Brie w/basket of assorted crackers

DESSERTS

Mini coupes of Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Mousse

Key Lime Pie Shooters

Mini Baklava Filo Cups

Ganache Topped Brownie Bites

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes w/Sprinkles

Lemon Bar Bites

Cranberry Almond Thins

Fruit Platter

Huge Bowl of Strawberries & Whipped Cream

Everyone enjoyed the touches of bird-watching mixed into the decor!

More of the Birds!

And more Birds!

Another view of the centerpiece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We received countless raves about the ambitious food and the presentation!  The client’s comments included this: “Best catered event they’ve ever attended!”

And finally a few pics of the food:

Tea Cart of Crudites!

Shrimp Asparagus Dijonaisse

Roasted Garlic Shrimp Cocktail

Caprese Sticks

Artichoke Pesto & Cucumbers

Crostini w/Filet of Beef & Horseradish Cream

Asian Meatballs w/Thai Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Five Spice Mixed Nuts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn’t get shots of everything as we got very busy, very quickly.  The flow of arrivals was only slowed by the limit of 6 people in the elevator at a time.  Everyone left the screening at the same time and walked to the apartment en masse!  It was a smashing success!

Eat Well….Be Well!

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Freezer Diving

It’s an odd sport, but one that becomes a necessity when  the coffers are overflowing!  I have been trying to cook from the freezer to reduce the quantity of stored bits n pieces that seem to reproduce while not being watched!  Last week I pulled out a label less quart sized container of what I thought was Turkey Corn Chili.  Visible through side of the container were black beans and corn kernels ground turkey and tomatoes.  So it was a natural deduction that it was the above mentioned Turkey Corn Chili.  Also located in the fridge were three leftover corn tortillas and the previous nights tossed salad.  The plan for the meal came together, make baked taco bowls from the tortillas using the upside down muffin tin method, fill with chili top with shredded cheese and guacamole and salad with cilantro dressing.

Made the bowls, prepped the salad, dumped the contents of the container into a saucepan to heat and noticed it had Artichoke Hearts in it.  Really artichoke hearts in chili?  And where are the black beans I saw?  Oh, those are tiny olives!  Oops, this is the extra from a “fridge” goulash I served over pasta!  Tomatoes, Onions, Ground Turkey, Corn, Artichoke Hearts, Olives, Oregano or maybe a Greek Seasoning Blend!  A quick taste revealed there was no heat so some on the spot tweaking converted it into a very unusual chili!  A can of kidney beans, some chili powder and cayenne and canned jalapenos!

Dinner turned out great but this is certainly a case for Labeling the freezer bound containers for the future of proper meal planning!!

I’m really curious as to what happened to that container of Turkey/Corn/Black Bean chili!  I truly cannot remember eating it!

Tonight grabbed more bits and pieces from the freezer and fridge to add to just purchased boneless chicken breasts and asparagus.  Baked the breasts in foil packets with chopped roasted tomatoes, thyme sprigs, more artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes a drizzle of the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar.  Roasted the asparagus with Meyer Lemon wedges in olive oil.  Topped the cooked chicken with a little pesto and the asparagus with aioli made from mayo and kalamata/balsamic mustard.  Tonight’s salad was greens w/watermelon, olives, feta and pickled red onion dressed with Orange Muscat Vinegar and Kalamata Olive Oil.

Tasted Great!

 

Eat Well…Be Well!

 

 

Playing with my Peeps!

Quite literally: Post-Easter Peep Play!

After cleaning up the Easter Flower arrangements which included sets of Peeps for a touch of whimsy as seen here and here, the Peeps were abundant and out of control:

First they formed their own Rainbow Coalition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then they tried this:

Peepettes (ala Rockettes) audition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a Sports Challenge:

A Hockey Face-Off?

 

 

 

A few went their own way and dueled to the death:

Toothpicks were the weapon of choice!

Melting Pot of Peeps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Finally:

 

A Pile of Peeps!

 

 

 

Guess who was bored today?  I was actually locked in my Apartment, the door latch broke and I couldn’t open the door to go out.  The super came and it took him over an hour to get into my apartment, finally gave up on the door and came up the fire escape and through a window!  He worked on the inside for awhile and returned to the hall and finally “broke in”.  He’s currently out buying a new lock assembly to install all new hardware! I hope!

And while no peeps were hurt in the flower arranging we had many causalities during the dismantling, and yes, I resisted eating any!  Especially since they were staler than when purchased!

Eat Well…Be Well!